Warp
by The Fallen Empress
Summary: AU. Sasuke-sensei—wherein Naruto likes his teme-sensei, Sakura has on obvious crush on the poor 16-year old jounin, and Kakashi couldn't care less. (tumblr prompt from stupidnygel) — SasuSaku
1. Prologue

She is loud, temperamental, infuriating and _annoying_.

_"Sasuke-sensei! Sasuke-sensei! I picked you flowers!"_

She always talks of nonsense, she's a crybaby and she's whiny.

_"But I don't want to sleep in the other room all alone! You don't mind, do you? Naruto? Kakashi?"_

She's proud of the smallest things. She's judgmental and she always tires first.

_"Guys, can we stop a moment? My—ow—feet are kinda sore…"_

She thinks she knows everything. She's bossy and self-centered.

_"Your eyes always cloud whenever your family's mentioned. Why, Sasuke-sensei? What troubles you?"_

She's reckless and feeble.

_"I hate it when you think I'm still a little girl, Sasuke-sensei! I'm capable of doing this mission on my own!"_

She doesn't understand…

_"I love you, Sasuke."_

_…_how much she means to him.

_"…Will you wait for me?"_

He will.


	2. i

He meets them on the first day of spring.

"I'm Uchiha Sasuke," he says, looking first at the boy with silver hair and black mask. He knows this one. He is the best in his batch. He is the son of the famous White Fang. His eyes find blue. The boy with sun-kissed yellow hair narrows his eyes up a him. He knows this one, too. He is the host to the kyuubi; the son of the Yellow Flash. Sasuke's eyes move to the next one.

The first thing he sees is her hair.

"Hello, Sasuke-sensei!" Surprisingly, she is the only one who greets him happily. Her eyes are green—a peculiar shade of green. It is not the green of emerald, not of jade. It is not the color of apples or the color of grass. It is an odd shape of green, he thinks. Unusual.

It is a green that cannot be seen in nature.

…He then realizes that she's the only one of the three he does not know.

He raises one eyebrow. "What is your name?" he barks at her.

"I'm Haruno Sakura," she answers, smiling up at him. She's small, too. Her head barely reaches his shoulder.

"And I'm Uzumaki Naruto!" the blonde boy exclaims. Sasuke glares down at him.

"I did not ask you your name," he says calmly.

"But I told you anyway!" Naruto sticks his tongue out. "You're kind of a bastard, aren't you, Teme-sensei?"

Sasuke glances from the blond boy to the still smiling pink-haired girl to Hatake Kakashi.

"Don't you have anything to say?" he asks him.

Kakashi shrugs; Sasuke scowls.

First day on the job, and he was already starting to regret ever accepting it.


	3. ii

"Sasuke-sensei! Sasuke-sensei! I picked you flowers!"

He stares at the white-petaled flowers in her hands. And then he looks at her and raises an eyebrow. "What the hell are those?" he asks flatly.

"They're flowers!" Sasuke rolls his eyes. As if he didn't know that. "They're for you!"

She stretches her arms towards him with a happy smile in her face. He does not accept it.

"I asked you to train," he tells her.

"I did," Sakura says, her stance faltering slightly. "But I picked these for you. They're daffodils. I thought they were pretty so—"

"Time wasted on picking flowers is time supposed to be spent on training," Sasuke snaps, standing up and towering down on her.

He gives her the hardest glare he can muster.

"Go back to training, Haruno," he says with a tone of finality as he walks away.

He tells himself he isn't guilty when he sees her fallen expression.


	4. iii

Sasuke has always been a light sleeper. Especially when he is on missions. Even if the mission is practically over and they are just spending the night on a daimyo's mansion to recuperate before they head back to their village.

And so, Sasuke awakes immediately as he hears three soft taps on their (Naruto, Kakashi and his) shared bedroom. He recognizes the chakra signature immediately, and he wonders what she is doing here in the middle of the night.

The door slowly and silently opens and Sakura peers inside. She is wearing an over-sized t-shirt and a pair of pajamas. Her hair is ruffled (he is not used to seeing this because she takes pride on her hair) and she is hugging a pillow tightly against her chest.

"What are you doing here, Sakura?" Sasuke asks quietly. Kakashi, however, wakes up no matter how quietly he says it. He is as much as a light sleeper as Sasuke is.

"Can I sleep here tonight?" Sakura asks, biting her lower lip.

Sasuke lets out a sigh. "Go back to your room, and go back to sleep," he says, lying down again and pulling his blanket up over his head.

"But I don't want to sleep in the other room all alone!" Sakura almost shouts. Her voice is desperate and whiny and _Sakura._ Naruto wakes up at her sudden outburst, a kunai at hand. ("Where? Where are the enemies?!") Sakura, however, continues as if a delirious Naruto is no threat to her. "You don't mind, do you? Naruto? Kakashi?"

Sasuke sits up again and glares. He is about to send her away the second time when Kakashi speaks up.

"Let her do what she wants," he says in a slightly tired tone. "It's not like we haven't all slept in one room before."

Naruto, who just realized what was happening, grins sleepily at the pink-haired girl. "Of course you can sleep here, Sakura-chan! You can sleep beside me if you want!"

Sakura laughs and squeezes in between Sasuke and Naruto. It doesn't take long before they all go back to sleep.

When Sasuke wakes, he feels a warm hand on his stomach and he wonders why her touch had not awoken him at all.


	5. iv

"I don't get why you like Teme-sensei, Sakura-chan," he hears Naruto say. "I mean—he's a_bastard_."

Sasuke's eye twitches as he repeatedly tells himself that his dobe student think whatever the hell he wants to think about him and he wouldn't give a damn.

He is inconspicuously sitting on a tree branch, and his students are sitting by the trunk. He had told them to wait for his arrival, but since Kakashi wasn't here yet, he opted to stay hidden. He is now starting to regret his decision.

"Sasuke-sensei is not a _bastard_, Naruto," Sakura tells the blonde. "He's just a little aloof, that's all."

"A _little_?" Naruto snorts.

"You're such an idiot, Naruto!" Sakura scolds, and from the sound of Naruto's yelp, it looks like Sakura had hit him with something. "Sasuke-sensei is a nice guy. I just think he's been through a whole lot — that's why he's like that."

"Yeah, yeah, Sakura-chan. Whatever you say," Naruto sighs as he rubs the back of his head.

In the distance, he feels Kakashi's chakra emerge. Sasuke looks up briefly at the sky before he decides that it's time for him to show himself.


	6. v

"I told you not to get in my way!"

He yells at her, but she does not yield. She does not even _flinch. _ANBU flinch in the face of his anger but this fourteen-year-old, a mere _chuunin, _has the courage to look at him with those defying eyes — like — like he doesn't even _fear _him.

"If I had not pushed you out of the way, Sensei, you would've been good as dead by now," she answers him as she sits up from the floors of the cave.

"We've been separated from the team — we've lost track of the enemies —"

He hears her scoff. "If you've been crushed by those rocks, then I think we'd be on a less desirable position now."

Sasuke narrows his eyes at the girl. Only _she _could speak to him like this, like it was nothing. Even his dobe student followed his orders, no matter how grudgingly he did it.

She moves to stand as she continues. "How about you stop being such a grump, Sensei, and accept the fact that I saved your li — ow!"

Sakura stumbles, but he is immediately by her side before it happens. He is unnaturally aware of her right hand on his chest, her left on his arm, and her body leaning on his tall frame. (She isn't even at least a head taller than he was, but she had the nerve to talk to him like he was an equal —)

"Thanks, Sensei," Sakura mumbles, as she regains her balance. "We'd best find another way around the cave-in since I no longer have the chakra to punch it down."

Sasuke grumbles and follows after her. He had to admit he was a bit low on his chakra reserves, as well. It would be a waste to use it needlessly on something as trivial as a mountain of boulders. A moment later, he notices the barely concealed limp as she walked. His eyes find a gash on her right leg.

"You're wounded," he says, surprised. Had he really been that distracted to not notice her injury?

"Oh, don't worry about it, Sensei," Sakura says with a wave of her hand. "I'll just have to regain a little bit of chakra and I'll be able to heal it in no time."

She continues to walk, until his hand reaches towards her arm to stop her.

Sakura bears a look of surprise as she turns towards him. "Sensei?"

He purses his lip. "I — about earlier —"

"Oh, don't waste your breath, Sasuke-sensei," she says with a laugh. "It's fine, I'm not angry or anything. I'm used to your mood swings."

Sasuke gives her the most menacing glare he can muster, but she only laughs again.

"And you're welcome," she adds.

This girl will be the death of him, he thinks.


	7. vi

"Guys, can we stop a moment? My—ow—feet are kinda sore…"

Sasuke glances back at the pink-haired girl behind him and sighs before he halts to a stop. "We've made good time," he tells Naruto, Sakura and Kakashi, who both stopped when he did. "Let's set camp."

"Great! I'll go get water! I think I saw a stream to our right a little while ago," Sakura says cheerfully as she begins her task.

Sasuke's eyes follow her as she hops from tree to tree. It is peculiar to think of how much she'd grown and changed over the years — he almost doesn't remember it happening. Perhaps it is because of the fact that he spends less missions with his former genin team. They are already sixteen now, and Kakashi is already a jounin, so it is hardly necessary for Sasuke to accompany them on missions. Still, it is quite… pleasant to be with them from time to time.

It is only after Sakura's out of sight that he notices Naruto grinning at him mischievously.

"What?" Sasuke scowls.

"Oh, nothing, Teme-sensei," Naruto sing-songs. "Nothing at all."

Naruto jumps down from the branch he had been standing on, whistling. Sasuke scowls again at the blond's idiocy.

"With Sakura, it's just one complaint and you're all 'we've made good time' in a flash, huh?" Kakashi muses beside him. Before Sasuke even has time to react, the white-haired jounin is already beside Naruto, helping him set-up camp.

Sasuke groans inwardly. Why are these people so damn _annoying_?

After a few minutes, Sakura is back. They eat dinner and about an hour later, they are already discussing shifts.

"I do not sense anyone in the perimeter, so one person at a time would be enough," Sasuke explains. "One hour and thirty minutes per person. We leave at sunrise."

"I'll take last watch!" Naruto exclaims, before anyone could say anything. The next minute, he is already huddled in his sleeping bag and snoring.

"I can take the shift before him," Kakashi volunteers.

"You sure about that?" Sakura asks, raising an eyebrow. "Waking Naruto up is like waking a hibernating bear in the middle of winter."

Kakashi shrugs. "I'll manage," he says. "I'll drag him out of his sleeping bag if he doesn't wake right away." And with that, he walks towards his own sleeping bag, leaving Sasuke and Sakura alone.

"What about you, Sasuke-sensei? Would you rather take first or second watch?" Sakura asks, looking up at him with those emerald green eyes.

For some strange reason, Sasuke is at loss for words. He had never noticed that Sakura's eyes were that shade before. And with the dim fire light beside them, they seemed to glow in an unusual way. Unusual… but beautiful._  
_

Sakura blinks. "Sasuke-sensei?"

Sasuke mentally curses himself. Had he really just thought that? Had he really just thought that Sakura was… _beautiful_?

_Well, isn't she?_ a nagging voice inside of his head says. Sasuke pushes it aside.

"I'll take first watch," Sasuke says, finally, noticing the tired glint in her eyes.

"Okay," Sakura says. Somehow, she seems relieved. "Goodnight, Sasuke-sensei."

Sakura stands from where she is sitting and begins walks toward her sleeping bag.

It takes a moment before Sasuke replies. "Goodnight, Haruno," he says, finally.

Sakura turns to him and frowns. "You should call me 'Sakura,' Sensei," she says. Seeing his surprised expression, she shrugs. "Well, you call Naruto and Kakashi by their first names, so why not me, right?"

Sasuke does not know how to answer that question. He stares at her for a moment, thinking about what to reply, but then she turns around and mutters a quiet 'goodnight' and goes to sleep.

Sasuke runs his right hand through his messy hair and lets out a sigh.

Ninety minutes later, he wakes her.

"It's time for your watch… Sakura."

He pretends he isn't the least affected by the wide smile on her face and the cheer in her eyes, but as he drifts to sleep that night, he remembers the last thing he thinks of:

_Beautiful_.

* * *

**A/N: **hi. thanks for sticking with me this far. first of all, i've been receiving comments about the chapters being too short and the story having no clear destination. i would like to clear out that this had been originally a tumblr prompt. i started posting this on my blog last year, and i never really intended it to be as long as it turned out to be (19 chapters. all done. don't worry) hence, there had been no clear-cut direction in the first chapters. However, the actual "story" begins now. i try to update everyday, so just stay tune for the next chapter tomorrow

thank you for all you're support. it means the world to me.

oh and even though i dont "a/n" a lot, feel free to review or talk to me or pm me if you have insights cos there's still a person beneath all the silence.

if u have a tumblr, go to my profile and click click click on the link!


	8. vii

Sasuke watches as Sakura balances herself on one side of the bridge they are walking across. (Naruto had named that bridge the 'Team Seven Bridge' since it is where they often meet.) Her arms are stretched on each side and every now and then, she shifts her weight from right to left. The setting sun on the horizon creates an eerie effect on his view of her. From where he is standing, Sakura looks like a dancing silhouette.

"Thanks for helping me train today, Sasuke-sensei," Sakura says as she turns to him momentarily to give him a smile.

Sasuke looks away and snorts. "I'm not your sensei anymore," he tells her. It is true. They are eighteen now — he had stopped being their sensei when they each passed the chuunin exam. But they still continue to call him that. Perhaps some things would never change.

Sakura gives him a sideways glance. "Do you mind when I call you that?"

Sasuke thinks about his answer for a while. Does he? It isn't unpleasant, but he decides he prefers to be regarded as an equal now. He tells Sakura just that. "I think it's better if you and the others start calling me without the honorific."

Sakura blinks a couple of times before she tests it out. "…Sasuke."

And then, his heart does a rather unexpected thing — it skips a beat. Sasuke does not know why, but the sound of his name — just his name — coming from her lips does weird things to him. The unfamiliar feeling disorients him for a moment, before Sakura speaks again.

"Sasuke-sen — Sasuke," Sakura starts. He notices that she is looking down at him fully, now. She fiddles with the hem of her top as she fumbles for words. "I - I have to tell you something. I figured it would be best if I get it over with now, rather than after or during the final part of the jounin exam tomorrow so I… uh…"

Sasuke raises an eyebrow, waiting for her to finish.

"Umm…" Sakura delays, looking everywhere, but him.

Sasuke sighs and crosses his arms at his chest. He shifts his weight to the right to signify that he isn't going to go anywhere until she finishes what she intends to say to him.

Sakura's green eyes flicker towards his face, and then she glances up at the darkening sky before she sighs. Sakura carefully jumps down from where she is standing. Now that they are standing in front of one another, Sasuke can see the height difference. He is a full head taller than she is.

But Sasuke knows better than to underestimate her. He knows her enough to know that she is no ordinary kunoichi.

"Err… you see… I —" Sakura is still fidgeting with her shirt, Sasuke notices. "I —"

She was obviously in discomfort. Perhaps probing her to say it isn't such a good idea.

Turning away, Sasuke began, "If you don't want to say it then —"

"I like you."

Sasuke stands there, frozen. And then ever-so-slowly he turns to look at her. His eyes are met with green. Green, green mirrors of determination.

"I like you, Uchiha Sasuke," Sakura repeats, her voice louder, stronger, _surer_ —

Sasuke just blinks at her in shock.

"I've liked you for a long time," the pink-haired kunoichi continues. "I've liked you since Naruto, Kakashi and I were genin. You — you inspire me to become the best version of myself, and if tomorrow —" She looks away now. A faint blush is now dusting her cheeks. "If tomorrow, I become a jounin — if tomorrow you think I am worthy enough, can I… can I be your girlfriend?"

And then, Sasuke's heart stops again. He feels the back of his neck getting warm. A lot of girls had confessed to him before, so Sasuke doesn't understand why this is so different.

But as he opened his mouth to give her the answer he gives to everyone who opens their hearts to him ("No, my utmost priority is to serve the village as one of its shinobi. I do not desire to take part in any relationships that would withhold me from that purpose.") he finds that he cannot — he cannot regard Sakura as one of them.

Sakura is Sakura.

She is different — she's always been different.

Sakura watches his expression change, from shock to confusion to regret and, finally, to acceptance. But as he gives her his answer, she stops him.

"You do not have to answer me now," Sakura says to him. Her expression is still determined, but there is an underlying tone of anxiousness in her voice. "Tomorrow… if I come out victorious… give me your answer then… Okay?"

Slowly, Sasuke nods.

Sakura smiles up at him before she bows in courtesy. "Thanks again for today, Sasuke," she says. "I'll see you tomorrow."

And as she walks past him, Sasuke tells himself that he did not have any desire to take her hand and make her stay.

He knows he lies.


	9. viii

"_SHANNARO!_"

The ground explodes just as he hears the sound of Sakura's battlecry. Unfortunately, her opponent jumps away in time.

From the looks of her opponent, Saskue knows that it is only a matter of time before the referee declares Sakura the winner. Sasuke also knows that she is capable of ending the match right now, if she wanted to, but she is prolonging it, no doubt to impress the judges.

Sasuke clenches his fists without realizing it. Sakura can hold up on her own, but he can see that she is exhausted, too. He silently wishes the fight to be over with.

He hears a whistle beside him and turns to see Naruto watching the fight with his arms behind his head.

"Sakura-chan's kicking ass, huh?" Naruto gives him a goofy, albeit proud, grin. There are scratches here and there on his face from his match, but they are already beginning to heal.

"It seems to me that she is really bent on impressing the judges," Kakashi observes from his other side.

Sasuke scowls inwardly. Had he really been so distracted to not notice both of Kakashi and Naruto's arrivals?

Naruto nods somberly. "Yeah, she was pretty serious when she said to me that she really wanted to pass this thing," he says. "Not that _I _don't want to pass it — but since I'm one hell of an awesome shinobi — HEY WHAT WAS THAT FOR, KAKASHI!" Naruto yells as a shuriken whizzes past him, barely touching his nose.

Kakashi gives him an amused look and the two of them engage in an all-familiar banter.

_"If tomorrow, I become a jounin — if tomorrow you think I am worthy enough, can I… can I be your girlfriend?"_

Sasuke recalls Sakura's words and he feels heat crawl up the back of her neck. He glances at her panting figure and catches a glimpse of her determined expression and his heart warms at the thought that she is not only doing this for herself, but for _him_ —

And right at that moment, her green eyes flicker up and meets his. Right at that moment, the world stops and there is only Sakura and himself, and nothing else.

Until he sees a flicker of something behind her.

"WATCH OUT!" Sasuke shouts before he can stop himself.

Fortunately, Sakura pivots around in time. She sends a chakra-enhanced punch to her opponent's stomach and just like that, the referee declares the match over.

Sasuke lets out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding.

He suddenly notices Naruto grinning at him like an idiot.

"_What_?" Sasuke barks.

Naruto's grin only widens. "Nothing, Teme-sensei. Nothing at all." He turns his head to look at Kakashi. "Right, Kakashi? It's nothing, right?"

"Right," Kakashi affirms, his voice uncharacteristically full of humor.

Sasuke grits his teeth.

One of these days he is going to kill his two former students.

* * *

**a/n:** just to make it clear: SASUKE IS ONLY 4 YEARS OLDER THAN KAKASHI, NARUTO AND SAKURA. 

the fic began with sasuke being a 16 year old jounin (see summary) and the three 12 year old genins.

thanks for the support guys. reviews are very much appreciated


	10. ix

Sakura is avoiding him. That much is obvious.

The thing is, Sasuke does not understand _why_.

Her words form that evening replay in his head.

_"If tomorrow, I become a jounin — if tomorrow you think I am worthy enough, can I… can I be your girlfriend?"_

Had she been _joking_? Had it all been a ploy to confuse him? To unsettle him? What had she _meant_? Had she been serious? If she had been, then why _the hell _is she _avoiding _him?

At first, he had thought that he was just over thinking, but when she had so vehemently refused to join the team for dinner that evening after some shitty excuse about _practicing healing on fishes_ of all things, Sasuke had been sure.

What he _isn't _sure of, however, is why he is standing in front of Sakura's apartment in the middle of the night.

If she is so hellbent on avoiding him, then what makes him think that she's going to open her door for _him_ of all people?

_This is pointless,_ Sasuke berates himself as he begins to turn away.

He is immediately stopped by the sound of an opening door.

"Sa-Sasuke-sensei?"

_Okay. What do you do now, you idiot? _Sasuke curses inwardly. He says the first thing that pops into his mind._  
_

"I told you to call me Sasuke."

Sasuke turns in time to see Sakura blush beet-red. She is fumbling with the doorknob and is looking everywhere but him.

"Wh-what brings you here?" she stammers.

"I… uh," Sasuke begins, then clears his throat. Fucking _hell_, what the hell was he _faltering _about?_  
_

First of all — Uchiha Sasuke _does not _falter. Second, it is _never_ because of a girl.

Taking a deep breath, Sasuke regains his coherency. "You've been avoiding me," he deadpans.

He sees Sakura freeze in front of him. She takes a step backward, and for a moment Sasuke thinks that she's going to slam the door to his face, but she stays. Her head is down, and she is not looking at him, but she _stays_.

Sasuke does not know what he is feeling.

Is this… relief?

"I'm sorry," Sakura says in a small voice. "I'm sorry about what I said the other day. I — I shouldn't have said that. I shouldn't have demanded that sort of thing from you — I…" She swallows. "I'm sorry."

He feels like his heart is falling. "You weren't serious then?" he asks.

What is this? What is this he feels in his chest? Why is he _disappointed_? Sakura taking everything back is going to make things _easier _for him. Heck, he should be _thankful._

She does not answer him.

He clenches his fists at his sides. "You weren't attending the group training sessions anymore. Naruto and Kakashi had been pestering me about where you were." He pauses for a moment, and then adds as an afterthought, "There's a spar session tomorrow morning at Training Ground 3. Come if you wish," he clips out and begins to walk away.

Her voice stops him this time. "I was serious."

His whole body freezes. He does not know what do do, and in the end, he decides to stay and wait for her to finish.

"I was serious," Sakura repeats. "And you're right — I've been… I've been avoiding you. It's…" She pauses. and in a smaller voice she finishes, "I don't know if I'll be able to handle the rejection."

And suddenly, his mind goes blank. Sakura thought that… he was going to reject her?

_Well, didn't you want to? _A voice asked in his head. _Wasn't that what you were going to tell her? Isn't that why you're _here_?_

He turns around and she is looking at him and she is _bracing _herself —_  
_

"Who said I was going to reject you?"

Sakura freezes, and Sasuke freezes — the whole world freezes — and he is _sure _that there is a tumbleweed somewhere rolling in the background.

And then, as if the world just started itself again, everything is in slow motion. He sees a smile ever-so-slowly form on her pink lips.

Sakura opens her mouth to say something…

…when Naruto comes out of nowhere.

"IT'S ABOUT DAMN TIME!"

Sasuke turns just in time to see Kakashi pull Naruto's ear, beckoning him back down into the bushes, but it is too late.

He sees the crinkle of a smile in his student's eyes.

"Fancy meeting the both of you here," Kakashi quips.

Sasuke feels the heat rising to his face.

_He is going to kill them_.


	11. x

"A _solo_ mission?"

Sakura whirls around at him in disbelief. "_Yes,_ Sasuke, why the hell are you so shocked?"

"You can't go — it's too dangerous. The bandits on those areas —"

"— are way below my level," Sakura finishes with a glare. "I'll be _fine_."

Sasuke grits his teeth. _Fine_? Parading solo across the borders is _fine_?

He purposefully reaches for her wrists and pulls her to a stop just as she is about to turn away from him. "Sakura —" he starts, but she is already yelling at him.

"I'm not a kid anymore, _S__ensei_!" Her words are laced with venom. In the five months they have been together, Sakura only ever called him that as a joke or an endearment. Never as way to hurt him.

Hurt. Sasuke pauses his train of thoughts. Is that what he is feeling now? But _why_?

"I can handle myself," she continues. "I know what I can do — I know what I'm capable of! I don't need you wanting to babysit me anymore —"

"That's not why I'm worried!" Sasuke cuts her off before he can stop himself.

Sakura's green eyes are wide with surprise. She snaps her mouth shut after regaining composure, and goes back to glaring daggers at him.

Sasuke glares back.

This foolish girl — does she really think he doesn't know what she's _capable _of? He's taught her for years; he's seen her fight! Of course he knows! The only reason he's holding her off is because —

Sasuke freezes in his train of thoughts.

The reason he's worried is because —

He releases her wrist as if her skin had burnt him.

He sees the flash of confusion in her eyes before he turns and walks away.

"Sasuke —" she starts. But she is too prideful to apologize, and he is too prideful to turn back. Both so consumed in their prides, they part: the air heavy with words not said and things not done.

As he walks a way, he ponders on his answer.

He is worried because…

…because he loves her.

Love? Does he really know what that is? Is he really ready to accept it?

Sasuke frowns. Or maybe not.

Suddenly, he remembers the way her eyes had shined in the embers the night she had asked him to call her 'Sakura.' He remembers her fierce determination the day of the Jounin Tournament — he remembers the brightness of her smile when he had gone to her apartment.

Maybe he isn't in love with her yet.

But he is certainly getting there.


	12. xi

Three weeks after their argument, and two days after she'd returned to Konoha, Sasuke sees Sakura at the cemetery.

He shouldn't be surprised, he supposes. But they haven't talked since that last _time_, and Sasuke does not know what to say to her. He is not angry, if he ever had been. But the realization that had struck his chest that night plagued his thoughts during the days that followed.

_Love_ — is he truly ready for what that entails?

Her eyes find him, then. And in the brief moment that their eyes meet, Sasuke feels as if the heart — _his_ heart — that has been bound by chains for a long, long time has been set free.

"Sasuke," she says. Her lips smile, but her eyes are grieving.

He sees the stems of the white daffodils in her hands bend with the pressure from her grip.

Sasuke looks away and walks past her. His eyes fall to the names etched on the tombstone. He closes his eyes for a moment and he sees red — red on the walls, red on the concrete, red _everywhere_.

"Today is the anniversary of the Uchiha Massacre," Sakura says softly, breaking his reverie. He opens his eyes. "I wanted to pay my respects."

_Uchiha Fugaku._

_Uchiha Mikoto._

He realizes that the grief is still there. It has always been there. It will never go away.

Sasuke grunts a reply as he carefully places the flowers he has brought down. Beside him, Sakura does the same, closing her eyes somberly at a silent prayer.

He sits on the grass in front of the tombstone and Sakura sits beside him. They stay like that for a while, just listening to the birds at the distance and the rustle of leaves from the trees, until Sakura breaks the silence.

"Your eyes always cloud over whenever your family is mentioned," Sakura says quietly. Sasuke casts her a glance. She is not looking at him, he observes, and it looks as if she is choosing her words very carefully. "Why Sasuke-sensei? What troubles you?"

Sasuke wants to scoff. _Sasuke-sensei_? Really? Are they seriously back to this? Does Sakura really think that their argument had stripped off every ounce of familiarity between them?

"I mean — I don't mean to pry or anything," Sakura mends hastily, likely misinterpreting his expression. "I just think that there is more to this. If… if you don't want to tell me, then it's okay, I'll take my leave —"

She has already begun to stand when he speaks. "It was my brother," Sasuke says.

Sakura blinks down at him, confused. "What?"

Sasuke sighs and meets her eyes. They are as green as he remembers. His heart feels like its melting. Has it really been that long? "My brother was the one who killed them all."

Sakura bites her lower lip as she takes the information in. Slowly, she sits back beside him, giving him a cautious look. "You're being oddly calm about that fact," she attempts to make her voice sound light, but Sasuke still catches the wariness of her tone.

"Itachi died by my hands a long time ago," Sasuke tells her. He remembers the emptiness he had felt after he did it. Vengeance had felt… bland. Empty.

"Why did he do it?" Sakura almost whispers, looking at him worriedly.

Sasuke shrugs. "To test his skills, he said. I was twelve years old. He wanted me to be the one to kill him. And I did. I almost betrayed Konoha in the process."

Sakura processes the information for a while before she asks, "You… almost betrayed Konoha?"

Sasuke nods absently, recalling events from years ago. "I was ANBU by 14. We had a mission near the Uchiha hideout and when my team said they sensed a powerful chakra coming from the area, I knew it was Itachi. I slipped out during my night watch to confront him."

Sasuke pauses and lets out a shaky breath before he continues. "That night, my team was ambushed. Because no one had been awake to warn them, one of my team mates died." He clenches his fists. "I was able to kill Itachi… but at the cost of another's life."

They are back to silence. All these years — after all these years Sasuke had thought that the memory would be less painful, but it isn't. He doubts it never will.

"What happened then?" Sakura asks him gently.

"I was demoted," he answers. After a while, he smirks. "My 'punishment' had been to teach a genin team."

"Well thank god for that punishment then, huh?" Sakura says with a tentative smile.

Sasuke raises an eyebrow. "How so?"

"Well," Sakura starts, "you look like you did _sorta_ enjoy yourself." She pauses and looks at him. "Didn't you?"

Sasuke thinks about it for a while. Did he?

He recalls Naruto's crazy antics, Kakashi's misadventures and — he glances beside him — Sakura.

Maybe he had enjoyed himself. Maybe it hadn't been much of a punishment after all.

"Aa," he says after a while.

Sakura's face splits into a smile. "I'm glad," she says. "Anyway, I'm sorry."

He raises an eyebrow at her.

A blush dusts her cheeks as she looks away. "For yelling at you," she explains. "I think I now understand why you were worried."

Sasuke casts her an amused look. "Do you now?"

Sakura clears her throat and hastily changes the subject. "I have more flowers," she says. "I picked a lot when I was on my way here. I —" She looks at him through her dark lashes. "I was hoping we could pay our respects to the rest of your clan." Quickly, she adds, "That is, if it's okay with you?" She licks her lips. "Sasuke?"

He hadn't thought it was possible. But he smiles.

After a long, long time, he finds himself smiling. And it's all because of this girl beside him.

"I'd like that," Sasuke answers.

* * *

**A/N: **here is where we see the deviation between canon!verse naruto and warp!verse naruto! ding ding ding! Uchiha massacre happened when kakashi sakura and naruto were eight years old. and since sasucakes is older by 4 years, he's 12 years old when it happened - meaning less hell bent on vengeance (because he's kinda more mature about it i think?) and more powerful. duh, he became ANBU at 14 didn't he?

sadly though~ amaterasu thing madara thing? err too complicated to whip up.

reviews make this faye happy!

thanks to _red-inked-dragon_ for proofreading dis (and the rest of the chapters dat follow)


	13. xii

Konoha is in chaos, but the chaos outside is nothing compared to the chaos inside Sasuke's mind. He runs as fast as he can, not caring about anything and everything in his way.

Every now and then he hears pleas for help, but he does not turn — he does not even _think_ of turning —

"Teme-sensei!" Sasuke glances at Naruto who catches up to him, panting. "Have you heard? A rogue ANBU division member's confession — a person named Danzo Shimura —"

"I heard," Sasuke says through gritted teeth. He _had _heard and he is _livid_. This person is the reason for the death of his clan. This person is the reason _Itachi_ had killed them all — he is going to _pay_.

"What are you planning to do? You can't face him alone —"

Sasuke cut him off. "I'm not going to let you stop me."

"I'm not!" Naruto says, a feral grin forming on his lips. "We kill this asshole together."


	14. xiii

"He loves you, you know," she says as she bandages his wounds. "That's why he did it—it was to protect you."

Sasuke grits his teeth. "He _murdered_ my _clan_, Sakura! How can you say that he loves me?"

"I just know," she tells him. Her voice is calm, even though he's practically shouting at her now. Sasuke does not understand this—the control she has when things around her are falling apart.

"_How?_" he snaps.

"Because I love _you,_ Sasuke," Sakura answers him. She does not look at him, however. She continues to wrap his injuries carefully. Sasuke stares at her bowed head in disbelief. Did she just tell him— "I know because I would have done the same thing for you."

"You would have killed an entire clan?" Sasuke sneers at her, disgusted.

Sakura must have heard it in the tone of his voice because she snaps her head up to look at him in the eye. "If it was my only choice to save you, then yes," Sakura answers. They stare at each other for a long moment, before Sakura sighs and gets back to her work.

After a while, Sasuke speaks, "You don't understand me."

"You're right," Sakura answers. "I probably don't."

"Then you can't love me," Sasuke says immediately. "You can only fear what you don't understand."

His brother's voice echoes in his head. "_Your worthless compulsion enslaves us, leading us to fear what we don't understand."_

"When you fear, do you not love?" Sakura asks him. "And when you love, do you not fear?"

Sasuke presses his lips together impatiently. When will this girl give up? "That doesn't even make any sense."

"Of course it does," Sakura tells him. She is finished bandaging his torso now, and is starting with his left arm. "When you love, you fear a world without the person you love; when you fear, you fear because you do not want the person you love to get hurt or to be away from you."

Sasuke stays silent after this. He weighs her words and he finds that he has nothing else to say, nothing to negate her words. Because somewhere, he knows this is true.

"And I think," Sakura continues, finishing up his bandages, "we love not because we understand whatever it is we love," She looks up and her green eyes stare into his own, "but because whatever it is we love makes us understand ourselves."

And when she stands, Sasuke sees the silhouette of the little girl who used to be his student. Now, she is a grown woman.

When did this happen? Sasuke thinks. How did she grow up without him even noticing it?

Sakura leaves without a word of goodbye.


	15. xiv

In the four days after Sakura heals him, they do not speak. They do not even cross paths. While Sasuke knows that this may not be intentional — after all, with destruction all around Konoha after Danzo's attempted escape, a lot of people require medical attention — Sasuke also knows Sakura.

And if Sakura really wants to see him, then she would seek him out.

Sasuke pauses in mid-thought.

Is he really _that_ selfish?

Sasuke groans in frustration, throwing a kunai towards the direction of a target forty feet away. The kunai hits bulls-eye with a thud.

Does he want to see her? He does not know. But she does not understand him. She can never understand what he's going through! How the hell can she say that she —

Sasuke grits his teeth.

_Why_ did she have to say that?

_"Because I love _you_, Sasuke."_

_No_, Sasuke thinks. She cannot say that she loves him if she thinks that Itachi did the right thing by murdering his clan. She cannot say that she loves him if she is willing to make the same sacrifice Itachi did. She cannot say that she loves him if —

Sasuke swallows.

…She cannot say that she loves him if she is willing to put him before anything else.

_Isn't that what love is, Sasuke?_ the voice inside his head asks. But he does not want to accept it. He cannot accept it. He —

"Sasuke."

The sound of her voice pulls him back. And, suddenly, he is frantically looking around for the source of that voice, the breath of fresh air, the _light_ in his world —

"Hi," Sakura says softly, smiling tentatively as his eyes meet.

Sasuke blinks and schools his face to neutrality. But he knows he is too late. She'd seen the yearning in his eyes.

But she does not comment on it. He does not know if for that he should be thankful.

"How are you?" she asks.

Sasuke suddenly feels annoyed at the attempt at small talk. "I'm fine," he clips out. "What do you want?"

There is a flash of sadness in her eyes, but it is gone as quickly as it arrived. "I just wanted to tell you," She takes a deep breath. "that I love you."

"Sakura —"

"No, let me finish," Sakura interrupts. "I love you. But I can see that you're not ready for that."

She looks into his eyes and he can see something beneath those jade orbs. He cannot pinpoint what it is, but for some reason, seeing it makes him feel like his heart is being crushed.

"I want to stay by your side, but I cannot unlove you, Sasuke," she continues, smiling sadly.

Somehow, he knows where this conversation is going. But it is too fast. Everything is too fast. He does now know what to do. One moment he realizes that he is falling for her, the next moment he discovers Danzo's treachery, the next Sakura tells him he loves him and _he does not know what to do_.

He closes his eyes tight and clenches his fists. He is helpless._  
_

"I guess," Sakura finishes, "this is goodbye then. At least for now."

She lingers for a short moment, waiting for him to say something.

But there is nothing he can say to fix the havoc in his head. There is nothing he can say. There is nothing to say. There is nothing to do.

This is not the first time that Sakura walks away on him.

And this is not the first time he lets her.


	16. xv

Sasuke knew there had been something amiss the moment they told him that the Hokage wanted to speak to him regarding a mission on _top _of the Hokage tower.

However, since it had been _Kakashi_ who had told him the _Naruto-sounding _excuse, he actually had the decency to give him the benefit of the doubt.

But when her pink hair came into view, he knew it had been a bad idea to trust him. And, of course, being the brave man Sasuke was, his first instinct had been to flee._  
_

"It's just dinner, Sasuke-sensei," Kakashi says once he'd started to turn away. Sasuke pays him no heed. "She waited for you, you know."

_That_ makes him stop. He does not know if Kakashi is guilt-tripping him. Then again, he doesn't ever know what Kakashi is up to.

"Whose idea is this?" Sasuke grits his teeth.

Kakashi shrugs and gives him an amused look. "Naruto's, of course," he answers. "But I figured I'd lend a hand. Things had been getting pretty tense between the two of you lately. It was beginning to grow bothersome."

Sasuke snorts. "And what about it bothers you so?" he asks sarcastically. He isn't really expecting an answer, but Kakashi still gives him one.

"Well, firstly, Sakura is my friend," Kakashi says. "Second, I think she makes you happier."

Sasuke's head shoots up at that moment and he casts him an inquisitive look. "What?"

Kakashi's eyes crinkle as he smiles, looking amused that he has finally caught his former sensei's full attention. "When you are together, you seem happier," Kakashi repeats.

Sasuke frowns at the observation. _Had_ he been?

He looks back at the short time they had been together. And even before that. Even when the three of his former students were still genin.

_"Well thank god for that punishment,_ _huh_?" Sasuke recalls that December afternoon when the two of them had paid respects to the Uchiha Clan. _"Well, you look like you did _sorta_ enjoy yourself. Didn't you?"_

"I was among the first ones to discover Danzo's treachery, you know," Kakashi tells him when he does not speak.

Sasuke freezes. He remembers the feel of Danzo's blood in his clothes as he cast his final blow. He remembers the fulfillment of killing him with his own two hands. He remembers the _bloodlust_. Sasuke closes his eyes. It is too soon. He begins to turn away again.

"Sakura had been there as well," Kakashi continues. Sasuke stops again. "When the seal on that ROOT member, Sai, was released, Sakura was there, along with the godaime. The hokage had begun to issue orders to dispatch a team of elite ANBU officers to retrieve Danzo, but Sakura stopped her."_  
_

Sasuke's mind spins. _Sakura_ had been there? Why does he not remember this? Now that he thinks about it, it is quite odd for an ANBU officer to specifically ask for _him _of all people to eliminate Danzo Shimura. Leaf's protocol is to retrieve the criminal _alive _for investigation. But with him that hadn't been the case.

Sasuke looks to Kakashi for answers, and he finds it. He hears it in his voice. He confirms it in his eyes. "Sakura told the godaime that you deserved to execute judgment upon the man who ordered to kill your whole clan," Kakashi explains further. "It hadn't been an easy argument, but she risked it for you."

Sasuke turns his head towards the pink-haired figure sitting quietly by a round table set up on top of the Hokage Tower.

_Sakura_, he thinks.

He debates with himself for a moment before he takes steps towards her direction. It is not long before her eyes find him.

"Sasuke," she says, standing up and bowing formally.

His heart squeezes at the formality.

"I'm sorry for all of this." Sakura gestures at the scene before smiling apologetically. "I convinced Naruto otherwise, but he wouldn't listen to me."

Sasuke simply shrugs and takes a seat across from her.

"Kakashi told me what you did," he says, straight to the point as always. Seeing her confused expression, he elaborates, "You convinced the Hokage that I should be the one to go after Danzo."

Sakura blinks in surprise before she nods. "Yes," she answers quietly. "I figured it was only fair. After all that he's done."

_"Because I love _you_, Sasuke."_

He clenches his fists. Love — is this it? Is this what love is?

"I know we haven't been okay for the past days, but Sasuke…" Sakura pauses for a moment and waits for Sasuke to meet her eyes. "…even after everything… can we still be friends?"

He does not know what to say, so he simply nods in reply.

Sakura's smile right then is the sincerest he's seen from her since a week ago.

"Thank you, Sasuke," she says.

_No_, Sasuke thinks. _I should be the one thanking you_.

But he says nothing, and they eat their dinner in silence.

Sasuke adds it to the list of things he should have said when he had the chance.


	17. xvi

The month that followed had been rocky for Team Seven. Mostly because of the awkward atmosphere around Sasuke and Sakura.

But things have improved between, them he supposed. The smiles that Sakura gives him are more real now, and the confusion he feels around her has dimmed to a constant hum at the back of his head.

Training and dinner had been a routine, and everyday he feels like he is getting better.

He is healing, he decides.

He casts a glance at the pink-haired girl not too far away from him. Today is March 28th — Sakura's birthday. Naruto — with the help of that other blonde, Ino — had thrown a surprise birthday party for her. Kakashi and Sasuke helped a little, but with Kakashi's entry to the black ops and his own reinstatement as an ANBU, there is only so much they could help with.

Sakura's eyes meet his for a moment and Sasuke holds it for a moment, before he looks away.

He never did like parties.

The sound of metal against glass fills his ears, as Ino calls the attention of all the guests with consecutive clangs.

"Hey guys!" she cheerfully greets, draping an arm around Sakura's shoulders. "As you all know, it's the birthday of this forehead girl here — " Sakura playfully shoves Ino away, but the blonde only laughs and pulls her tighter. " — but it's not the only reason we're gathered here tonight."

Sasuke sees a somber smile form in Sakura's lips.

"For those who still don't know, Sakura is leaving in a month for Suna," Ino continues.

Sasuke's head immediately shoots up.

_What?_

Suddenly, the world is spinning all around him. No — how did this happen? Why does he not know this?

"Our girl here has been offered a job as the head of the Sunagakure Hospital, as well as the Konoha ambassador to Suna."

Around him, people start clapping, but he does not hear them. There is a strange ringing in his ears. The world is still spinning.

"Sasuke-sensei —" he hears someone call from beside him. Kakashi — it sounds like Kakashi —

His eyes look at Sakura, but she is talking to someone he cannot recognize. He wills her to look at him. He wills her to come to him and explain. Explain why he does not _know —_

_LOOK AT ME!_

And she does.

When she does, his whole world shatters beneath his feet.

Her eyes are not happy — but they are not sad. Sakura… Sakura is moving on.

She is moving on.

_And what makes you think she wouldn't? Not when you've given her nothing to hold onto._

Sasuke closes his eyes and gathers chakra in the air that surrounds him. When he opens them again, he is no longer at the party. He is somewhere far away.

_The words left unsaid are the most important words of all._

_"Thank you."_

And then,

_"I love you."_


	18. xvii

She is looking for him.

There is a crowd of people surrounding her — Naruto, Kakashi, Ino, that former ROOT member Sai (he does not know when or how he becomes close to Sakura), a few others from the nine academy students who passed the final genin selection, and the three members from Gai's team. Shizune and the Godaime are also there.

Every so often, Sakura's head pops up now and then in the middle of her goodbyes. She cranes her head subtly and every time she goes back to her conversation, her eyes are a little bit sadder.

They have not talked since her birthday. He had drowned himself in work, taking every long-time mission available, but fate wants him to be in Konoha on the day of her departure.

"Hey. Teme-sensei."

Sasuke freezes in surprise. He glances at the Naruto beside Sakura, and then at the Naruto beside him, concealed in the trees. _Shadow clone_.

He narrows his eyes and tries his best to ignore him.

"Whatcha hiding in here for, hm?" Naruto mock-whispers, inching his face closer to his.

"Go away," Sasuke sneers. He really didn't need his dead-last former student anywhere near him right now.

Sasuke feels another chakra signature on his other side.

"I knew you'd be somewhere around the vicinity." Sasuke recognizes it as Kakashi's voice this time.

Sasuke grits his teeth. Why don't they just leave him alone?

Another one appears behind him.

"What are we gathering here for?" a voice asks. Sasuke glances behind him to see that ex-ROOT member, Sai.

He scowls. What the hell is _he _doing here?

"Hmmm, I don't know, Sai," Naruto says, folding both his arms around his head, "Ask Teme-sensei. He's been hiding here since before the crack of dawn."

Sasuke's scowl deepens. He looks down and sees that Sakura and the others have yet to notice the fact that Kakashi and Sai are not with them anymore.

"So when are you going to go say goodbye, Sasuke-sensei?" Kakashi asks, pulling something from his back pocket.

Beside him, Naruto chokes. "Kakashi! What the hell! Put that away! You're disgusting!" he yells, pointing at the orange book in Kakashi's hands. Kakashi, as always, just shoots him an amused look.

Sasuke debates as to whether or not it's be okay to knock them both cold.

"You are Uchiha Sasuke, right?" Sai asks from behind him. Sasuke shoots him a glare, but it does not seem to affect the pale ex-ROOT. "Ugly has done a lot for you. I believe it is customary to repay that favor by at least bidding her farewell."

Sasuke growls. It is not even five minutes into a conversation, and Sasuke is already starting to hate the guy.

Kakashi closes the book in his hands and claps a hand against his back. "It's now or never, Sasuke-sensei," he says, before flash-stepping back into the crowd.

"Go talk to her, Teme-sensei!" Naruto adds before poofing out of existence. He sees the Naruto below cast a grin at his direction.

"I guess I shall take my leave, as well," says Sai as he flash-steps after Kakashi.

Sasuke grinds his teeth together in annoyance. At the horizon, the sun is almost fully out. If he waits longer, he will be too late.

With a sigh, he flash-steps down, directly in front of Sakura.

Her eyes are wide with surprise as she stammers his name. "S-Sasuke…"

"Hn." Sasuke looks away. He shoves his hands inside his pockets, unsure what to do with them.

He does not notice the crowd falling away, and the people around him sharing knowing smiles.

Sakura smiles tentatively. "I almost thought you wouldn't show," she says.

His eyes move to hers and suddenly, he is overwhelmed by the urge to hold her into his arms and never let her go.

_I love you._

"I'm glad you're here, Sasuke," she continues, her smile more genuine. He searches her eyes.

_I love you_. _I love you._

He cannot say it. He still cannot say it —

She says it for him.

"I love you."

The whole world stops, as it does when she is with him. Suddenly, there is no one watching. There is nobody here, but the two of them.

"I love you, Sasuke," she repeats. She lifts her right hand and her fingertips touch the side of his face lightly. "Will you wait for me?"

Sasuke briefly closes his eyes and remembers the feel of her skin against his. And it is perfect. For now, it is enough. When she comes back, he will be healed. When she comes back, he will tell her.

_I love you_.

He opens his eyes again and looks at her. He nods.

_I love you_.

* * *

A/N: And this drabble series is finally coming to close. The next will be the last chapter - an epilogue of sorts, with a two-year time skip. I give my thanks to those who've read this far and of course to those who actually took effort to review. Your feed back means a lot to me. :)

I would also like to thank my friend and my proofreader, Alex, (because frankly I do not know how to address you anymore because of your ever-changing pennames) who saw through this to the end.

Cheers!


	19. Epilogue

Two years have passed.

He is twenty-five now. He does not remember much about the past two years. His ANBU reinstatement had been a pretty good distraction. But at the end of the day when he would drift to sleep, he would hear her voice, and as he closes his eyes he would see her smile.

Two years is a long time, he thinks. He jumps to another tree branch, his squad following closely behind him. They are going back to Konoha after another long assignment. He estimates another two weeks before he is assigned on another mission. He just wants it to get it over with.

Two years and counting.

He does not see Naruto and Kakashi much anymore — Kakashi, like he is, is part of the Black Ops, frequently out of the village. Naruto has been assigned to a genin team, although there are rumors that the Hokage had done this as part of Naruto's evaluation as a candidate for Rokudaime. Outwardly, he scoffs at him, but inside he is proud.

Sometimes, when the three of them are in the village, they have dinner at Ichiraku's. Sometimes, the ex-ROOT, Sai, joins them. Sometimes Sasuke thinks he will never think of Sai as someone other than he had been — a henchman of Danzo's, the man who ordered the slaughter of his clan. Sometimes, he thinks he considers him as part of the team — as part of the people who wait for Sakura's return.

He sees the village gates just the lines of trees clear.

Two years and counting.

She will be twenty-one in two days. Sometimes, she sends him letters. She tells of stories about the new things she'd learned, her new friends — Sasuke replies in short, direct messages, but he replies.

He misses her.

He closes his eyes briefly. He thinks he senses her chakra somewhere inside the village. When he opens them again, and it is gone.

This happens often. Sometimes he thinks he hears her laugh. Sometimes he thinks he feels her touch. But the next moment, it is gone, and cold envelops him.

Two years and counting.

He gestures to his team, and they nod collectively before each go on their ways. In two weeks, he will be away from the village again. He is glad for the distraction.

Naruto sometimes asks him why he doesn't go to Suna to visit her. He doesn't think he can. He would not know what to say. He would not know what to do.

_I love you_.

He closes his eyes again and wonders if he will ever heal.

When he opens them, the next thing he feels is shock, then confusion.

It is unmistakable.

Her chakra is there — it is inside the village. But… _how_?

He is running faster than he has ever remembered running. Around him, the world is a blur. He hears nothing but the rapid sound of his own heart beating.

_I love you._

She is here — he knows he isn't imagining it. She is really here —

He stops directly in front of her. Around them, the leaves from the Sakura trees float. She smiles slowly, but she does not look surprised.

"Hey, Sasuke," she says. Her voice is like a breath of fresh air. Her eyes are as green as he remembers. She is beautiful. "I'm home."

He thinks of something to say. A sarcastic remark, an off-handed comment, but his mind clouds and there is _only _one thing to say.

"I love you."

Sasuke watches as Sakura's expression turns from shock, to confusion, and, finally, to joy. Her eyes water, but she blinks it away as she reaches to brush his hair away from his face.

"I love you, too."

His hand moves to the fingers on his cheek, and he squeezes it.

He is healed, he thinks.

He will be okay.

.

.

.

"SAKURA-CHAAAAAAA — Oops, am I interrupting something?"

"Is this what they call mating?"

"If you want to learn about mating, Sai, I could lend you my book if you want."

_He is going to kill them._

* * *

**A/N: **And there it is! Thank you all so much for taking time to read this fanfiction. I hope you enjoyed! 'Til next time, folks!


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